Lever operated snap switch



Nov. 14, 1933. R. H. BENTLEY 1,935,498

LEVER OPERATED SNAP SWITCH Filed Dec. 20, 1930 m 1 m }m.!mu 1 r 3 WW l la l l l uwl l l l llllll 4Z0 I L7 INVENTOR ROBERT H. BENTLEY Patented Nov. 14, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEVER OPERATED SNAP SWITCH I Robert H. Bentley, Hartforil, 001111., assignor to The Arrow-Hart & Hegeman Electric Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 20, 1930 Serial No. 503,837

2 Claims. (Cl. 200-6) This invention relates to lever operated snap between two pairs of stationary contacts 30, 31 switches of the type shown in the Guett Patent and 32, 33, which have portions disposed within No. 1,511,809, patented October 14th,1924. Howth avity a on end f th arcuate The ever the switch shown in that patent is capable contacts 32, 33 are adapted to be bridged by one 5 of breaking the circuit on only one side of the cap of the anti-friction roller while the contacts 0 line. 30, 31 are adapted to be bridged by the other It is an object of my invention to provide a cap of the roller. The contacts 31 and 33 are lever operated switch which will break the ciralike and may be substantially Z-shaped, or cuit on both sides of the line so as to leave the of any other suitable shape. I prefer to make 10 electrical device controlled by the switch, dead. them with terminal portions 36 extending out 5 Another object is to make said switch of a few, of the casing to facilitate connecting the switch inexpensively manufactured parts, the majority in a circuit. As shown, these contacts are made of which may be stamped from sheet stock and from sheet'metal, the upper or terminal portion riveted together. 36 thereof being ofiset laterally within the base In the drawing: toward the central lamination C. The offset por- 7 Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of my invention tion is narrowed and afiords an anchoring means with a portion of the casing broken away to to help hold the contact in fixed position. The

. show the switch operating mechanism. lower portion of the contacts has an arcuate Fig. 2 is a section view of the switch, the seccontacting surface lying flush with or rising 23 tion being taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. slightly above the bed of the cavity 18 so that 75 Fig. 3 is a section view taken on line 33 of the roller will roll upon this arcuate contact surthe Fig. 2. face when it is in the end of the cavity with the Fig. 4 is a detailed section view of the antistationary contacts. Lying adjacent the stationfriction roller employed in my switch. ary contacts 31, 33 are the contact buttons 30,

25 Referring to the drawing, the switch base 10 32 50 that as the peripheries of the roller p 80 is made up ofa plurality of laminations L of 22 a e with the contacts 3 811C133, the head insulating material which may be held together portions of these Caps wi l engage the Contact by bolts or rivets passing through the laminabuttons 30, 32. The contact buttons 30, 32, are tions and through a sheet metal yoke 12, all as m d p n fi resilient talli p in m mshown and described in the Guett Patent No. bers 38 w c are v d to wire terminals 40 85 1,744,629, patented January 21, 1930. Also as wh h p oject from the pp si e end f th ca in Shown in that patent, a-cavity 18 with an arcuate from the wire terminals 36. Certain of the lamibottom, may be formed in the base, by cutting nations of the base are recessed to accommodate away, the central portions of several of the interior the wire terminals 40; and the laminations next laminations. The switch is operated by a pivadjacent to the wire terminals are recessed to 90 oted thumb lever 14 which stresses a coil spring comm d t th spring members 33. h p 16 to cause an anti-friction roller 17 to roll along ti which form th Side walls of t cavity the arcuate bottom of the recess. Switch operat- 1 and which in the present case are the same il'lg me s of this lf Well known laminations which are recessed to accommodate 40 f used m my swltch shown and the wire terminals 40, are also recessed adjacent Scnbed f" Patent There the contacts 31, 33 to receive the contact buttons fore a more deta1led descr1pt1on of the switch 30, In order to insulate the projecting P g ig sfi p 81.1108 tions of the wire terminals 36, 40 from one an- 1s 0 nous Is mven Ion is hmlted other, I prefer to extend the central lamination to any one switch operating mechanism.

l C of the base beyond the base 1n an amount equal In my switch, the anti friction roller 17 1s made to or greater than the extension of the wire up of a dumbell shaped member 20 of insulating t t b material which has mutually insulated metallic ermma'ls beyond he ase.

caps 22 encasing the enlarged ends thereof, the P i mregmns It will be seen that as the anti-friction roller is compelled to move along 105 inner edges of these caps being turned over toward the central portion of the member as at the arcuate bed of the base, 1t will, when at one 24, so that the caps will hold themselves upon end of the cavity not engage any contacts. the insulating portion of the roll but when it is moved to the other end of the As the roller is moved along the arcuate bed vity'th p 22 w ll engage the i n ry of the cavity 18 it makes and breaks contact con acts 30, 31. and 3 33 e p y and Permit passage of current from the terminals 40 through caps 22 to the terminals 36 or vice versa.

Thus it will be seen that the two sides of the circuit may be connected to the terminals 40 and 36 and the double break in the circuit incident to operating the switch will completely isolate from the source of power any electrical device which is controlled by the switch.

I claim:-

1. In an electric snap switch, a laminated insulating base having a cavity therein, recesses within certain of said laminations, two pairs of switch contacts within said recesses, snap switch mechanism in said cavity, an anti-friction roller adapted to be moved in said cavity by said switch mechanism, said roller having metallic portions thereon insulated from each other, said metallic portions being adapted to electrically connect each pair of said contacts, one contact of each pair having a resilient portion extending within said base behind a side wall of said cavity from one end of the base toward the other to a point adjacent the other contact of that pair, said one contact extending through an opening in the side wall of said cavity in position to be engaged by said roller while said roller engages said other contact.

2. In an electric snap switch, a laminated insulating base, having a cavity therein, recesses within certain of said laminations, two pairs of switch contacts within said recesses, snap switch mechanism in said cavity, an anti-friction roller adapted to be moved in said cavity by said switch mechanism, said roller having metallic portions thereon insulated from each other, said metallic portions being adapted to engage one contact of each pair with one surface, and the other contact of each pair with another surface, one contact of each pair having a resilient portion extending within said base behind a side wall of said cavity from one end of the base toward the other to a point adjacent the other contact of that pair, said one contact extending through an opening in the side wall of said cavity in position to be engaged by said roller while said roller engages said other contact.

ROBERT H. BENTLEY. 

